DEFT ENTERS PLEA OF GUILTY. COURT SENTENCES DEFT TO
COUNT 1: 5 YRS DEFERRED; $1000 FINE; $100 VCA AND COSTS.
COUNT 2: $250 FINE AND COURT COSTS.
COUNT 3: $250 FINE AND ALL COURT COSTS. DEFT NOT TO POSSESS ANIMALS OF ANY KIND DURING HIS PROBATION. TA
A "deferred sentence" means that his finding of guilt is withheld for the five years he's on probation. As long as this moron doesn't get himself arrested on new, unrelated charges or violates his probation terms (e.g. being in possession of animals), at the end of the five years this case will go on his criminal record as DISMISSED. Dismissed as though he hadn't abused these starving animals for months, possibly years.
This is typical of animal abuse and neglect cases. No real punishment for the abuser so there is nothing to convince them to not do it again.
Full name: David Gene Gray
OK DOC#: 746813
Birth Date: 8/26/1981
CRF: 2015-578
Court: MUSKOGEE COUNTY COURT
Offense: CRUELTY TO ANIMALS
Term: 5 Years
Disposition date: 10/12/2016
Discharged date: Still Active
Estimated date probation ends: 10/11/2021
Meanwhile, for nearly two years, Elizabeth Meissner refused to accept responsibility; that she was sitting inside this trailer stuffing her face with Funyuns while she let her three dogs outside slowly starve.
Her first setback occurred on December 1, 2015, when they had a hearing. She and her defense attorney did all they could to try to get the judge to find that authorities did not have probable cause to arrest and charge her with animal cruelty. Unfortunately for her, the judge found that there was probable cause to move forward with her criminal case. It was then set for May 6, 2016.
Elizabeth was just too busy to bother to go to court that day so a bench warrant was issued for her arrest for FTA - Failure to Appear. But since Elizabeth isn't too smart to begin with, she was caught a few months later on August 15th. This time the judge set her bond at $7,000. Somehow she and/or family managed to scrape together enough money to pay a bail bondsman (Lumbermens) to get her out. Her trial by jury was set for March 3, 2017.
Guess what? Sweet Elizabeth didn't bother to show up. Again. I hope her family who scraped together that bond money didn't mind throwing it all away for her because they're not going to get it back. Nice one, Elizabeth. Yet another bench warrant was issued for her arrest. She's not very capable of staying on the lam, though, because she was caught by the bondsman on just four days later on March 7th.
The next day, March 8, 2017, she finally got her brain cells to start working and she took the same plea deal that was given to her idiot boyfriend David Gray - probation. She should have gotten worse punishment for dragging this out and for all the times she skipped out on court while everyone else was there BECAUSE OF HER.
03/08/2017 - DEFENDANT KNOWINGLY AND VOLUNTARILY ENTERED PLEA OF GUILTY. COURT SENTENCES DEFENDANT
COUNT 1: 5 YEARS DEFERRED; FINES AND COSTS.
COUNT 2: 5 YEARS DEFERRED; FINES AND COSTS.
COUNT 3: 5 YEARS DEFERRED; FINES AND COSTS.
ALL COUNTS TO RUN CONCURRENT WITH EACH OTHER (CONCURRENT MEANS AT THE SAME TIME RATHER THAN ONE AFTER THE OTHER, CALLED CONSECUTIVE, WHICH WOULD HAVE PUT HER ON PROBATION FOR 15 YEARS). DA ORDERS PROBATION.
Her probation term should end around March 8, 2022.
They should have ordered random drug testing for BOTH of them for the next five years.
ORIGINAL STORY:
An area couple have been charged with animal cruelty after their three dogs were found in deplorable condition in Fort Gibson, according to court records and District Attorney Orvil Loge.
Arrested were David Gene Gray, 33, and Elizabeth Dianne Meissner, 30, on three counts each of Felony Cruelty to Animals.
“An officer initially went out on a domestic,” Loge said today. “Then he saw the dogs and said ‘what’s going on with these dogs?'”
The dogs, breeds undetermined, were emaciated, their eyes were matted, they had what appeared to be mange and hookworms. A veterinarian took possession of the dogs, which were in “pretty bad condition.”
A bowl of food sat outside the fence where the dogs were being kept, just out of reach of the dogs, who were trying anyway to poke their noses through the fence to get to it.
The dogs were found at 407 E. Armory in Fort Gibson, but the couple were found in Muskogee.
(MuskogeeNow - June 26, 2015)
